BOONE - When state Rep. Pricey Harrison introduced the Appalachian Mountains Preservation Act in the legislature last month, she said her aim was to start a conversation about where North Carolina's coal comes from. By that measure, the Guilford County Democrat's bill is already a success.
Duke Energy's response to the bill, which would prohibit North Carolina utilities from consuming coal mined by the controversial "mountaintop removal" method, came from a spokeswoman, Paige Sheehan. She said legislators should oppose the bill because, "You'd basically cut our market in half where we can get our coal" -- referring to the Central Appalachian Basin where Duke gets almost all of its coal and a hotbed of mountaintop removal.
This was an apparent turnaround from Duke's testimony just last year. Then, the Charlotte-based utility was trying to reassure the state Utilities Commission about the wisdom of building another coal-burning power plant west of Charlotte. Speaking on behalf of Duke Energy, William McCollum told the commission not only that coal prices were likely to remain low and stable, but also that Duke could obtain coal from a variety of sources -- not just from the Central Appalachian Basin. Other likely sources included Pennsylvania, Illinois, Wyoming and international imports.
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